Of Fire and Ice
by This is not a FanFiction
Summary: After being thrown out on Christmas day into the cold December air, Harry James Potter wishes to be free from the cold and the place he's been forced to call home. Magic, hearing his plea, transforms the slowly freezing boy into a creature where he would be free from all cages and powerful enough to protect himself. Magic turned him into a dragon. (Not to be taken seriously)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is just a random story I felt like writing. Helps get ideas flowing, so I thought I'd post it and see how it evolves. **DO NOT** take it seriously and enjoy!

* * *

A small boy stood outside, the December wind chilling his malnourished body to the bone. It was to be expected, being Christmas and all. His relatives, like every Christmas before, wanted nothing to do with him and refused to have him around their son, and his cousin, on such a special day with his freakiness. As such, young Harry James Potter was thrown out of the house and into the backyard with nothing but the clothes he wore to sleep the night before. No shoes were seen on his small feet, not a winter jacket around his shoulders. Instead, the boy huddled to the warmest corner and tried desperately to keep warm.

He began to realize a few hours later that he began to feel numb, and from experience, that was a very bad thing. Huddling closer to himself, Harry tried to use the warmth inside himself to warm his body. It was a strange feeling, the warmth. It was comforting, and gentle, but he could feel the raw power and strength in it as well. Either way, he knew that using too much of it, exhausted himself greatly.

So, rather than using his warmth completely, Harry tried to rub his cold chest and bring his toes closer to his body and avoid touching the frozen ground completely. As he turned to look at his relatives laugh and smile, Harry couldn't help but wish he were far away. Away from the cold and with someone who would care and love him like his Aunt and Uncle showed Dudley. To be far away, like a bird and simply fly as far as the wind would carry. He hardly realized the warmth engulfing his body, but when he did he realized something impossible had happened.

One, he wasn't cold, not in the slightest. Instead, he felt completely content, his body temperature perfectly at balance. The next major thing he noticed was the fact that he was no longer a ten year old boy. No, rather than skin, he seemed to have scales that sparkled like freshly fallen snow. His hands had become claws that looked to be capable of clawing his way out of anything. His neck felt longer, far more flexible than what he was used to. Craning his head around, Harry realized he was on all fours, like a dog or cat and it felt perfectly natural. He gasped in shock when he noticed two wings sprouting from his back. He tried to see if he could move them, and not a second later his wings stretched out, spreading out fully as he had seen birds before taking flight. He didn't mind the tail so much, he felt as though without it, he wouldn't be nearly as balanced than with it.

Taking one last long look at his relatives, Harry walked out to the open yard, spreading his wings once again and pushed against the gravity that kept him grounded, defying the law and pushing harder until he was airborne. The feeling of nothing gripping hold of his larger body was breath taking. He never wanted to feel the earth underneath his feet again it was so wonderful. Pushing himself up more, he began to fly around, feeling one hundred percent absolutely _free_.

No fears of his Uncle clutched at his heart. No worries he wouldn't go without food for the next few days. There was nothing that could take away the feeling he was feeling at that very moment. He felt himself give into the instinct to fly away from the house he had lived in for ten years. He felt the air swiftly moving around him, caressing his frame with a cool hand. He didn't know which direction he was going. He honestly didn't care. The wind would tell him when to stop, the very sky would tell him when he had found _home. _

Harry hadn't known how long he had flown until he felt the need to land, and more importantly, the need to hunt. He took in the surroundings of his landing point. It was some sort of frozen marsh of land. It felt comforting to his cool scales, as though this were his natural home. Taking a moment to breathe in the cool December air that no longer harmed him, Harry let his instincts take hold once more, and when he returned from them, realized his stomach was full of winter rabbits, and some other small creatures who had the misfortune of crossing his sense of smell. It sickened him to a point that he had not only eaten raw meat, but also that he had to kill the animals with his teeth or claws. He pushed the thoughts away, realizing that he _needed_ to eat the creatures. The hunger was simply too great to ignore.

Looking around once more, Harry realized he had moved from his original landing point and was closer to this strange looking building of some sort. The place reeked of an assortment of food. The smoke of past meals still lingering in the air. It also had an aura Harry immediately recognized as a 'nest.' He hadn't known where that thought had come from, but the word felt so natural he didn't question it. The odd building was a nest, and from the smell, had quite a bit of hatchlings lingering inside. A part of Harry envied what he recognized fully as a home. They, like the Dursleys, were obviously loving to their own. Love seeped out of the very cracks in the home. Love, kindness, and family all littered the aura around the house.

It was both wonderful and hideous to Harry at the same time.

Choosing to move away from such happiness, Harry went to make himself his own 'nest.' Bringing in piles of ice and snow into one particular area, forming the mound with his tail and claws. Once he had felt he had done enough, he climbed on the small pile of snow and ice, and quickly let slumber take hold, not fearing that in the morning, he would find himself back in the cupboard under the stairs, or human Harry once more. No, he felt it in his very bones that he was a dragon, and a dragon he would remain to be.

* * *

Two voices broke his peaceful slumber, and Harry was met with the overcast morning of his new nest. The voices were getting closer and closer, and what they were saying became clear to his highly sensitive ears.

"Gred, I'm telling you, it's full proof." One of the voices said.

"But of course it is, Forge, I wouldn't believe any less." the other, now identified as 'Gred', said.

"We just need mum-" Forge began, followed by Gred.

"-to be distracted-"

"-then we can come in-"

"-and no one will notice-"

"-a thing." they finished together.

Harry, whilst listening in, was trying to wrap his head around what they were actually saying. Between them going back and forth and completing each others sentences perfectly was a little befuddling. He continued to listen as they actively spoke about some sort of plan that would leave their "Ronnikins" terrified of any small noise for days, something they found hysterical for reasons Harry couldn't understand. Thankfully, as close as they were, the snow and his little mound of snow camouflaged himself fairly well and neither of the voices seemed to notice him.

Soon enough, however, they became edging closer and closer to his nest, Harry felt his instincts telling him to defend his nest. To get rid of the intruders before they harmed him like his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin had. But, he remained silent and pushed back his baser instinct to look at the two voices. They were both older than him, tall with vibrant red hair as well as numerous freckles speckling their faces. Looking at the two, it seemed they were identical twins, which would explain quite a bit on their ability to complete each others sentences so wonderfully. He had often heard at school that twins simply had this _bond_ that no one could explain. But it was stronger than any bond, for it was naturally born with them. But then again, who wouldn't form some sort of bond from spending nine months together in a small enclosed space?

Noticing the two were getting a bit _too_ close to his nest, Harry let out a small growl of displeasure automatically, unable to hold back. He wasn't that surprised at himself, these two strange people were trespassing on his home, his _nest_. He would protect it no matter what, and protect himself from any possible threat. He _was_ a dragon now after all, he could defend himself from two people who stood considerably shorter than he did.

The twins, however, heard the small growl and rather than be cowed away from the area, they looked at each other and bore identical mischievous grins on their faces.

"What do you think that was, brother o'mine?" one asked, Harry unable to pinpoint whether it was Forge or Gred.

"Not sure dear brother, but I believe we have a duty to check it out." the other said.

"Too true, too true. Shall we?" the first motioned toward his nest directly, though still ignorant to his being there.

"Let's" the other said taking the first step toward his nest.

After the first few steps, Harry couldn't take it anymore, and he raised his head in a slightly threatening manner, snarling to the point where his many sharp white teeth were barred at the two now petrified twins. They both wore shocked wide eyes as they stared at Harry's nine foot height, and the teeth that could _literally_ split them into tiny little pieces. Neither brother had even uttered so much as a yelp, utterly afraid of what was going to happen to them as they were facing an actual, honest to Merlin, _dragon._

Their brother Charlie had spoken animatedly about the dragons he had been taking care of in Romania, how dangerous it was at times, and they had learned quickly from his constant lectures that one should _not_ trespass on a dragons territory. Young or old, most dragons were extremely territorial, mostly when females were nesting, or when hatchlings leave their nest and make their own.

Something the two had _just_ done.

They stood in their spots, not daring to move an inch as the rather beautiful snow white dragon stared into their eyes with his emerald orbs. They glowed against the contrasting white scales, and while he looked menacingly at the both of them, neither could deny the urge to run their hand over the silk looking scales that shimmered in the dull sunlight. Charlie, however, told them that when dealing with a wild dragon, one should make no sudden movements, little to no noise, and to hope and pray it leaves you alone if you were alone with no knowledge of how to protect yourself.

So, the two being alone in a sense and having no knowledge in dealing with a wild dragon, Fred and George Weasley stood frozen in their spots, praying to every god known that the dragon would leave them alone.

Harry stared at them for a few moments, and decided that they weren't a threat. Neither moved, and neither smelled of any aggression or impending attack. Both smelled greatly of fear, which was something Harry had never experienced being sent toward him. He was always the one afraid, never the other way around. Because of that, Harry dared to come closer to them, sniffing the air about them before smelling them directly. They smelled of smoke, and if laughter had a scent, they certainly smelled it.

After a while, the twins still not daring to move as he maneuvered around them, he felt the urge to be stroked, like a cat would yearn to be pet. It was an odd thing, but something Harry couldn't deny. So he moved his head to be under one of the twin's hands, trying to budge it to be placed on top of his head so that he would get the idea of what he wanted. After all, as a dragon he wouldn't be able to communicate with them.

Fred felt the head nudge his hand, and he couldn't help but feel that was the last time he would feel his left fingers, no doubt the dragon was seeing if he wanted to bite it off. His brother looked on with petrified fear, trying to decide whether or not he should risk moving away and running for Charlie, and leaving the wild dragon with his brother, or whether or not he should stay put and see what happens to them. He couldn't leave his twin, so he looked on, cold sweat dripping down his cheek, as the dragon nudged his brothers hand.

Instead of eating the hand, the dragon continued to nudge at it, like a kneazel would when it wanted to be pet. Fred, trying to appease the dragon, decided to slowly move his hand across the silky white scales of the dragons head, feeling the soft ridges where his horns were starting to come through. It was obvious that the dragon was young, but it was already fairly large, to think it _hadn't_ grown it's horns already spoke volumes of how large the dragon would be when it matured.

Once Harry felt the hands begin to rub against him gently, he pushed harder against it, happy that he got what he wanted. Deep in the back of his throat, a small sound hummed through, sounding not so much as a growl, or a purr, but something in between. Once he felt content, Harry pushed his head back and looked at the two emitting a small happy shriek that caused the both of them to fall to the snowy ground on their backs. Harry looked while they fell, laughing at the pair who still had wide eyes staring at him. The laughter came out in a combination of low shrieks and growls.

The twins looked on, somehow knowing that the beautiful white dragon was laughing at them. When it stopped, the twins remained stock still as the beautiful creature placed his head between the two bodies, laying down comfortably and completely tame in front of them.

Slightly turning his head to the side, Fred whispered to his brother, "Georgie boy..."

"Yes, Fred o'l chum?" George whispered back, not daring to divert his gaze from the dragon.

"I think we just got a friend dragon..."

"I think you might be right..."

Sharing a look, the two gave identical face splitting grins.

"Wicked."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Eh...Don't own...not to be taken seriously...yeah, that's about it. Thanks for reading this little side story and reviewing!

* * *

"Wicked." the two red haired twins had said in unison. Harry remained in between the two, happy to be fawned over by two now excited twins. He tried to remain as calm as possible, not making any menacing sounds or movements. While he didn't feel love around the twins, the awe and fascination they were emitting was more than enough to placate him. He had only ever felt hatred, disgust, and other emotions being pushed toward him, anything else was always welcomed.

"How come you're all the way out here?" George asked the white dragon, though he knew it wouldn't answer.

"Maybe he got lost? Looks young, maybe he just left his nest?" Fred wondered aloud, remembering that Charlie had said that at a certain age, Dragons left their nest much like birds and tried to find a place on their own to live that suited their needs. It seemed this one found it's new home right next to theirs.

"Reckon we should bring Charlie over here?" George asked his twin.

"Nah, then he would have to take him to the reserve... this dragon seems friendly enough...maybe he was illegally handled?"

George had a pondering expression before he nodded, "That would explain why he's not eating or incinerating us."

Harry honestly forgot that, as a dragon, he would be able to breathe fire. He was so happy at the aspect of being free he only focused on his ability to fly and enjoying his new large body. Bringing his head up away from the two twins, he moved his body to the side before he let out a small screech, forcing a tight feeling in his chest to grow before he released it. Rather than the fire he was expecting, he had breathed out what felt like a powerful snowstorm, the icy blue breathe froze the snow it touched into ice.

Hearing twin voices exclaim another "Wicked!" made him laugh in a dragon like combination of growls and screeches.

After witnessing their young dragon friend breathe out a frozen breath that turned the already wintery landscape into a mound of ice, Fred turned to his brother with a wide grin that screamed mischief.

"Georgie ol' boy?"

"Yes, brother o'mine?"

"Think we can coax him into playing a prank with us?" at the word prank, Harry turned around to look intently at the twins. Prank? Harry had never played a prank in his life, though he was often (nearly always) blamed for the pranks his cousin Dudley played on the neighbors or teachers at school, only fueling the rumors that he was a delinquent to sound more like truth.

"Looks like we might be able to." George said with a wide grin that threatened to split his face.

Harry chose that moment to return to the twins' side, looking intently at the two pairs of brown eyes that stared at his emerald ones intensely. *What do you mean 'prank'?* Harry had asked, his words coming out to be a few growls and small hums, though his eyes spoke the words for him.

"We were thinking of scaring our little Ronnikins with you wonderful dragon, you." Fred said to the dragon, petting his snout affectionately with a twinge of excitement.

"Make our dear little brother think he's losing his mind since no one would believe a _real_ dragon like yourself would be around here." his brother continued.

Harry thought it odd that they were talking to him as though they _knew_ he could understand him. Then again, he thought it completely odd that they weren't freaking out he was a _mythical_ creature. Dragons didn't really exist after all...right? Then again, he proved himself wrong the moment he became one. They also said something about a "Charlie" and a reserve. Could it be some sort of Dragon Reserve similar to those animal reserves he read existed in Africa? For a moment he thought it might be a nice place to live. At least until he realized they would have to cage him. He would never be caged again. He was free for once in his life and powerful enough to stop anyone from trying to take him back to confinement.

Looking back to the twins, Harry snorted, a cool wind escaping his nostrils and caressing the two red haired boy's faces. *No.* he said shaking his head to the side, *I'm not going to risk getting caught.* to make his point known to the two, Harry moved back to his little nest, laying comfortably against the soft fallen snow.

"I think we've been rejected." Fred said a bit disappointed.

"I do think we have..." George nodded, though he wasn't as disappointed as he thought he would be. After all, they had a dragon for a friend now. He didn't think anything could top that.

"FRED! GEORGE!" A shrilly voice rang out causing the twin boys to flinch at the tone, though they instantly became panicked when they saw the beautiful white dragon screech lowly and get into a rather dangerous looking pose, his teeth glistening in the dim sunlight.

Fred rushed over to the dragon, trying to do everything and anything he could to calm it down so that it _wouldn't_ attack their mother.

"YOU TWO GET OUT HERE NOW! YOU OWE YOUR SISTER AN APOLOGY!" their mother shrilled louder, coming closer and closer to where they were.

"Shite!" George cursed in a hushed voice, moving toward his brother and attempted to bring the dragon further away, but the creature refused to move.

"I'll try to delay her..." Fred said to his brother, "Just calm him down and come when you think it's safe, alright?"

"Right..." George said to his twin, his arms having a firm grip around the dragons neck. "Come on," he tried to coax the beautiful dragon away, "Let's go over here!" No matter what he did though, the dragon wouldn't budge. Harry wouldn't move for two main reasons. One, he wanted to rid the world of that voice. It _hurt_ his newly sensitive ears every time she screamed. And, more importantly, whatever the voice was, it was trespassing on _his_ territory. He allowed the two red-haired twins to come because they smelt of mischief and kindness. All he smelt from the shrilly voice was anger and frustration, both of which did _not_ bode well for him. _Nothing_ good came from those emotions. He had known that from ten years of experience with his _beloved_ Aunt and Uncle.

"There you are!" she screeched again, causing him to snarl, only to have George clamp his arms over his snout, effectively muffling the sound. Unfortunately, that only served to frustrate Harry further and fight the twin.

"No! Stop, they can't see you!" George whispered urgently. He didn't know what they did to dragons who attacked humans, though he was sure it was all but pleasant.

"GEORGE WEASLEY! GET OUT HERE THIS INSTA-!" her scolding was cut off the moment she saw her son fighting a rather large young white dragon and turned into a terrified scream of pure horror. Harry screamed himself at the sound and was able to throw George off of him. Rather than attacking the banshee of a woman, Harry tried to muffle his ears in the snow, stepping further away from the pungy woman.

"Get over here now...NOW!" she hissed at her son, though both twins were vehemently trying to explain that the dragon wouldn't hurt anyone. The scream, of course, caused the entire Weasley family to come out and see what caused the commotion. When they all saw the dragon, it elicited two more high pitched screams from the younger children, and the others to take out their wands.

Harry looked at them, cringing more at the sound they made. _Sticks?_ he thought to himself. It was obvious they were more than sticks but he hadn't a clue as to what they could actually do. It was as though they were holding them as a weapon, much like his Uncle when he had hold of his belt.

They could hurt him.

Screeching at them all, Harry reared up and stretched his wings out wide, hoping to scare them off. He didn't want to hurt them, if he did, he would hurt the two red heads who were kind to him. It didn't seem as though they wanted to hurt him either though as they all smelt of fear and worry.

"Wait! Stop!" one red head said to the rest of his family, putting down his wand slightly. "Quiet! All of you!"

"But Cha-!" the plump woman began again only to be hushed rather abruptly with a wave of his stick. In seconds, all that was heard was Harry's roars, and when Harry realized that, he calmed down some and stared at the group in front of him. There was a mixture of fear in every pair of eyes save for three. The twins were more worried and fearful _for_ him than _from_ him, and the one who had called them all to be quiet looked at him with something akin to fascination.

The twins looked onto their brother Charlie, begging him with his eyes to not hurt their beautiful white, emerald eyed dragon. He wouldn't hurt any of them if they just stayed calm and _didn't _move or make loud noises. Charlie had _told_ them over and over what to do when facing a wild dragon! Didn't _anyone_ pay attention to him?

Charlie took command in the instant he cast the silencing charm over his family, while at the same time casting a strong protective charm over them that would lessen the harm of the fire the dragon could possible breathe in fear or on instinct. The dragon itself was like none other he had ever seen. It was a sleek white dragon, it's scales glistening as it reflected the dim sunlight shone down upon him. He - for he was fairly certain it was male as they all, no matter the type all had a more _appealing_ look - was rather large for a dragon so young his horns had yet to fully show. The wingspan was impressive, and while it was rather at an unhealthy weight for he could see the reliefs of his ribs, the muscles were strong in his wings for flight. Another thing that struck him was that the dragon was too _clean._ It's claws didn't look as though it were

Harry looked at the red haired man. He smelt like others...something that screamed _kin_ inside of him. It took a while of silent staring that he'd figured that he was in contact with other dragons. _Dragons...are real?! _He thought to himself a bit shocked for a moment, though it shouldn't have been a shocking bit of information. Leaning in closer to the man, Harry sniffed the man, feeling a small shiver run down his spine before he relaxed completely. Blinking a few times, Harry brushed his snout into the man - Charlie, he reminded himself - cooing softly and ignored the startled set of gasps that the small action elicited.

"See!" Fred and George said in hushed voices, their tone smug, "We _told_ you he wouldn't hurt anyone!"

"Bill," the woman spoke, "Fire-call the Ministry, they'll need to take him to another location." When Harry heard _someone _was going to take him, he panicked and backed away from the entire group of people, screeching loudly in fear. They would take him away! If they found out he was really a boy, they would take him back to the Dursleys! No, no he wouldn't let them!

Fred and George, pushing away from their mothers tight grasp, ran to their pretty dragon and wrapped their arms around his neck, trying to calm it down. When Harry realized his two red-haired twin friends were on him, he stopped fighting as much, careful not to hurt them.

"Bill, call the reserve, the dragon's _clearly_ been illegally handled." Charlie said, moving slowly toward the dragon.

"Right, Charlie." Another tall red-haired answered, leaving Harry's sight.

"Mum, it's better if you take Ron and Ginny back inside, I don't want them getting hurt on accident. The dragon's docile enough, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Fred, George, come on now!" Molly said while nodding to her older son.

"No, they stay." Charlie said, earning a nod from Harry, "They calm him down."

Fred and George gave a wide smile to their brother, more than happy to stay by their dragon.

When they all left, Arthur leading his wife away from their three sons and the white beauty of a dragon, Fred and George shared a rather worried glance and asked their brother, "Will he be safe at the Reserve?"

Charlie looked at his two younger brothers. They seemed rather taken to the dragon, though he could understand why. Dragons were beautiful and dangerous creatures; to be able to have one as a friend, or even companion was something desired by every little kid, and many adults. He himself had always wanted a dragon, ever since he was a child and the love for the large creatures grew more when he met Hagrid at Hogwarts. The half-giant was personally responsible for putting him into contact with the Dragon Reserve after graduation.

Nodding seriously, he said, "He'll be taken care of. He's been raised illegally, so we'll try to teach him how he would survive in the wild in a smaller facility. When he's old enough, he'll join the other dragons at the large reserve."

Fred and George nodded at their brother, stroking the dragons silky white scales gently with their hands unconsciously. Harry was more than a little worried, but it hardly sounded as though they were going to cage him. A reserve, from what he read, was basically a large area of land guarded by people for wild animals targeted for poachers. Considering he thought dragons were a myth no more than three days ago, Harry would think they were highly desired for their skin...horns...or many other body parts. Wasn't there a myth that said a dragons heart was the cure of all maladies? He shuddered at the thought. The reserve was his best option at this point. He scarcely knew to hunt and if poachers were out to get him, he could hardly fend them off. Turning back into a boy was the _last_ thing he wanted to do, since anyone would send him back to the Dursley's...

So, he would stay a dragon.

But if everyone at the reserve was half as nice as the red-haired Charlie, it couldn't be _too_ terrible a place, could it?


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: No clue how dragon handler's take care of a wild dragon and take them to the reserve, so I winged it. If it's completely wrong, well, just go with it.

* * *

Chapter 3:

Harry stayed with the two red-haired twins and their brother Charlie while he assumed others were to help transfer him to this reserve they were talking of. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he figured it had to be better than staying with the Dursleys. After all, if it was just not cutting it out for him, he could easily leave.

No one could cage a dragon.

He was a little depressed that the twins most likely weren't going to be coming along with him, as they seemed too young to even work legally, but he would make do with Charlie. Other than being kind, and quiet, Charlie seemed utterly fascinated with Harry, and whenever he could, began to prod and observe him under a keen eye that was at times rather uncomfortable. When the twins had his full undivided attention, Charlie would rub against his wings, or caress the ridges on his body, or feel the small horns that were beginning to form on his head.

While his hands felt comforting, being looked at so observantly was just disconcerting.

The twins weren't looking forward to having to say goodbye to their dragon friend. He was a beautiful creature, and as gentle as a house fly, though not as annoying as them. Fred and George would owl Charlie every chance they got when he was at the reserve, if only to get updates on how their dragon friend was fairing. After all, how many people could say they had a friend/pet dragon? Hagrid would be so jealous.

At the thought, the twins snickered.

"You'll make sure-" Fred began.

"-he's taken-" George continued

"-care of-"

"-right?" the twins finished in unison.

Charlie looked at his brothers with a slight twinge of amusement in his eyes. He was honestly rather glad to see that someone liked dragons like he did, and thought them to be less dangerous than they were made out to be to the public. He knew that his brothers would worry for the little dragon once it was at the reserve and promised them to send weekly reports on how he's doing. Owling every day wouldn't be a great idea since he works for most hours of the day.

"That's good..." the twins muttered together while petting the little white dragon.

"Don't worry, we'll keep him in observation for a while on his own, and then we'll see if he can be taken in by one of the nesting mothers." Charlie said trying to ease their worry. "Nesting dragons will most probably revert to her maternal instincts and take him as her own." Though inwardly he was thinking that it was _also_ a possibility for the nesting mother to view the little dragon as a threat and try to kill him- in which case the other keepers and himself would do everything they could to get the little dragon away from the mother and attempt it again with another, or with the same mother after a short period of time. A dragon this young looking would need the guidance of an adult dragon, as they couldn't teach it how to survive on the actual reserve.

It took about an hour before the entire crew that would be responsible for transporting the young Dragon arrived at the Burrow. The sudden growth in number of people that Harry didn't know frightened him some, and tried to squirm away from the twins without hurting them. He knew that they wouldn't harm him, considering that it was the twins brother who called them and all, but his instincts were telling him to fly far, far away, and fast.

The twins tried to calm him down, petting his side and whispering calming words to him as the other men and few women surrounded him.

"Alright guys, just like always." One man said as he raised a stick in Harry's direction, the others did the same. The action sent a chill down Harry's spine, all the way down to the end of his tail.

He most certainly did not like those sticks...they smelled of power.

Becoming a bit frightened, Harry reacted on instinct and stretched out his wings, roaring to the sky.

"Now!" the same man said, sending a bolt of red light his direction. The other people that had surrounded him had done the same and when the lights hit his body, Harry felt the world begin to darken around him.

No, he most _definitely_ did not like those stick things.

Reacting as violently as he could so that he could stay awake, Harry began roaring and tried to fly away, but the urge to lose consciousness was too much, and soon enough, the world had darkened around him.

"Don't worry, Fred, George," Charlie said to the panicking twins, "he'll be fine. This is the safest way to transport the larger dragons before we inject them with a potion that will keep them asleep during the transition into the Reserve."

It was the only way that they really knew how to subdue a dragon, and even as young as this one was, it was obviously already incredibly immune to spells. They couldn't take the chance at the dragon waking up during the transportation to the reserve, as anything could happen and the little dragon _could_ very well escape them.

The twin red-heads nodded at their brother and walked to the now sleeping dragon to pat it's shining white head as a goodbye. They would be begging their mother later on to spend Christmas, or a week in the Summer at the Reserve to visit him. They weren't about to let their friend, a _dragon_, forget about them.

"You better make sure-"

"He's taken care of."

"Of course, I'll try to be one of his main keepers, and don't worry, I already promised you that I would keep you two updated. Now, go on inside and tell Mum a 'sorry' and 'goodbye' from me, alright?"

"Thanks... leave us, your poor little brothers to face her wrath as we tell her that her second son is leaving right after Christmas." Fred said with fake tears in his eyes.

"So horrible, Charlie...do you not _like_ having us as your brothers?" George added with an equal amount of dramatics as his twin.

With a small chuckle, Charlie ruffled their hair and ushered them inside the Burrow before turning to his fellow Dragon Keepers and making the preparations to return back to the Reserve.

* * *

By the time Harry woke up, he was in an entirely new area filled with new daunting scents that put him immediately on edge. Letting his eyes scan the area he was in, he realized that the Twins' older brother and the other people had placed him in some sort of circular room that opened up to the midnight sky. He felt that if he flew, he would be met with that same barrier thing that had stopped him from escaping the first time, but it was comforting to look at the open sky rather than a ceiling.

Not far above him surrounding the rooms perimeter were a number of people, looking down on him with observing gazes.

"Amazing." he heard one of the men state completely in awe. "You said he was white, pure snow white before he came here?"

Harry gave a tilt of the head to that statement. Of course he was white, that was how he would survive in the snow, but there was no snow here... With a quick look at his wings, Harry noticed that rather than the white scales he had remembered, he had pitch black scales that glistened like freshly woven silk in the moonlight. He was so surprised he had lost control and released a bright emerald fire that illuminated the room.

"How ca-"

"This is bey-"

"-ew species!"

Were the fragments of sentences that Harry heard from all around him. This was getting to be too much, he decided. He didn't know where he was, but it felt as though he were in someone's territory...or at least nearing one dangerously and he decided that it was best to leave. He could live off of rabbits easily. Or something on the outside. But he definitely didn't want to stay in this unfamiliar confined area.

With a roar, Harry spread out his wings and with all his might flew upward, trying to reach the top of the room and leave, but instantly felt weak and dropped back down with a heavy thud.

Groaning in slight pain that he was somewhat accustomed to, Harry noticed that the Twins' older brother Charlie had entered the room. The familiar scent calmed him almost completely, and with as much strength as he could muster, padded over to the red-haired man who gripped tightly onto his wand just in case he needed to protect himself.

Harry raised his head and pressed it against Charlie's abdomen, rubbing against it in a warm manner and breathing in as much of his scent as he could.

Charlie in return rubbed his hand against Harry's now raven black scales calmly, knowing that the not-so-little dragon was most likely scared for waking up in such an unfamiliar place. He wanted to scream at the Director when he said that he specifically _couldn't_ let the littler dragon see him, that he would stay in the area until he was familiarized with it before they allowed anyone to check over him.

It was beyond stupid considering that the Dragon was not only illegally handled, therefore _needed_ human interaction, but the fact that the dragon had gotten close to his brothers and therefore would recognize him from his scent, that he was a _friendly_ and not a threat, would calm the little guy down some, and let him relax in this new habitat.

But of course, being the Junior handler, everything that he suggested was basically ignored, no matter how logically sound it might be. Which was _exactly_ why he went ahead and dropped down into the room regardless of what they had said.

"Don't worry little guy, you'll be safe here." Charlie muttered softly, not really knowing if the dragon would be able to understand him or not. "You know what you need?" he asked out loud, "A name. I'll have to owl my brothers about that, I think they'd prank me senseless if I didn't ask them first since they were your friends first."

Harry simply laid down beside the red head, resting his head against the man's knees before letting them fall in front of him, though still keeping a trained eye at him.

"I'm sure you'll like it here, once those guys up there think you're ready, we'll show you to a nice nesting mother who will take you in."

Harry raised his head a little at the mention of a nesting mother, and the fact he had said she would take him in as her own. The very human part of him was beyond ecstatic to hear that there would be a mother who would be willing to take care of him, and from Charlies voice, protect him. But the very dragon part of him that was beginning to win over some of his more, human tendencies, cringed at the thought, knowing that the mother could very well kill him if she thinks him a threat to _her_ actual hatchlings.

"I'd better go, little one, I'm sure my Supervisor is just _dying_ to talk to me right about now." From the tone of his voice, Harry gave a low growl. He would not allow Charlie to get hurt or in trouble because he was trying to assure him everything was fine!

Charlie seemed a bit surprised at the growl that the small black dragon gave, as it was obviously not directed at him.

Taking a chance, he asked, "Can you understand me? Even a little?"

Even on a dragon, the bland expression that said, 'you can't be _seriously_ asking that question, can you?' was as clear as day.

"Bloody hell, you can!"

Harry gave a small roaring laugh at the man who had a _very_ laughable completely flabbergasted expression on his face. Standing up, Harry nudged him a little to the caged door that was the only exit out of the chamber they kept him in, knowing that he was probably needed elsewhere, and _he_ wanted to go lay on the large rock at the center of the room.

"Ah, yeah, I should go. I'll be back later little one, with a name and all."

The small now black dragon nodded lightly before padding off to the rock and jumping atop it, resting down seconds after.

* * *

"What were you thinking!" berated an older man with greying hair toward Charlie. The man, known as Ramos Adolt, Head Keeper, had more scars than one could count, and _those_ were the ones visible, with pale skin and wrinkles that were beginning to show. His face while nearly screaming at the read-head was turning into an unattractive red, his blood pressure rising. "You could have _easily _been mauled! It's a new species we've never encountered before, and you just jump in there with it!?"

Charlie, having enough, finally said, "It's tame enough. My kid brothers befriended it not fourteen hours ago and it's blatantly _obvious_ he's been illegally raised. His teeth are far too clean, he has little to _no_ scars, his wings are underdeveloped, and is greatly underweight. With his approximate age, he shouldn't even be separated from his mothers nest, yet we found him at my parents home alone. This isn't a _wild_ dragon we're dealing with, but one that has been raised and trained like a pet to some arrogant witch or wizard somewhere in the world."

Another man, whose face wasn't as scarred as Ramos, placed his hand on Ramos' shoulder and squeezed lightly, knowing that what the newest Dragon Handler was saying was undoubtedly true.

"He's right, Ramos. Given the dragon's physical appearance and demeanor toward Weasley, that is the most obvious conclusion, and very likely the correct one."

Ramos shrugged off his hand and continued, "He still went against a _direct_ order, Sebastian. We've been dealing with dragons for years, kid. At least _try_ to head what we say!"

The other man, Sebastian Underwood, sighed but nodded. "That's true. This is your first warning, Charlie, when we give you an order, we expect you to head it as otherwise you may very well lose your life. Had it been any other dragon, you _would_ have been torn to shreds." Sebastian Underwood was the Assistant Head Keeper, and far more level headed than Ramos, which worked well as their conflicting personalities balance each other out.

Charlie gave a grim nod and said, "I understand, but he isn't like any other dragon we've dealt with before. We can't even release him back into the wild because of how he was handled thus far."

"True enough." Sebastian admitted, "On the newest arrival, I'm leaving you in charge of handling him as we run the proper tests. Usually it would be more than just one, but the dragon seems to be obviously taken to you, so it should be fine. We will, of course, have others around just in case, but I believe you would be fine on your own."

Charlie was a little taken back but nodded regardless. "Of course."

"Tch, go on, get some rest, kid." Ramos said with a wave of his hand toward Charlie, "You'll need it for tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." Charlie replied before exiting the office.

Once Charlie was out of the room and the door closed, Sebastian turned to his long-time friend and said, "So what do you think of the dragon?"

Ramos looked at his slightly younger friend and sighed. "He's going to be a pain, that's what. Now we have to send word as well as evidence for the Ministry to hunt down the people who illegally raised him, not to mention all the damn paperwork that has to be filed with them on a newly discovered specie of Dragon. Merlin, the Ministry might even send some of their own to do research on the hatchling...We have enough to do around here than play 'host' to a bunch of idiots who don't know a Hungarian Horntail to a Norwegian Ridgeback." Ramos complained rubbing his temples.

As much as Sebastian would like to agree, everything Ramos had said would most likely come to pass. The amount of paperwork that was put into the discovery of a new specie, of any kind, was enough to send the most patient man into an annoyed rage. The Ministry would undoubtedly send their own representatives to see the dragon themselves and send in an individual report along side their own, regardless of whether or not the representative was qualified or not.

"I know, but Ramos...a _new species!_ It's been decades...nearly a _century_ since we've _created_ another type, but this could very well be naturally born! We haven't discovered one like him in _centuries!_" Sebastian said enthusiastically. Every Dragon Keeper became a dragonologists for one main reason: they loved dragons. It was a dangerous job, and one that _couldn't _be taken on lightly. You had to have _some_ sort of love for the dangerous beats in order to be one and actually continue to be one as long as they had.

Ramos quirked a smile and said, "I know. It's bloody amazing, I mean, Charlie reported that his scales were pure white and breathed ice! We see him, he's pitch black and breathing emerald flames! I can't even begin to imagine how this is possible." his smile was one of genuine excitement before it turned a bit sour. "I only wish we didn't have to deal with the Ministry..."

Sebastian gave an agreeing nod and said, "Me too, but we'll have some time on our own yet. We'll send the owl tomorrow and we probably won't see anyone for about a week. Let's try to get as much done as possible before then."

"Right." Ramos agreed, dreading when the next few days came to pass. The Ministry was likely to send the worst representative they could dish out to them. But that was just the way it was, and he hoped nothing bad would come to the little black dragon because of it.

* * *

A/N: Technically this was supposed to be posted a long, LONG time ago, but I'm really _really_ not in the mood to update any of my existing stories... I have like no drive to continue them and my mind wanders to new stories... This of course doesn't mean I'll abandon them, but it'll be a lot harder for me to get something self-satisfying out here until I find my muse again. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll come back eventually!


End file.
